Keith B

By keibr

Watchtower to watch what?

This home-made tower looks out over an area of felled forest. To the passing tourist it looks very strange. What is there to watch?
The answer is elk (or perhaps moose).
The elk / moose is hunted every autumn in Sweden. In order to hunt this deer you must be in a registered team, and have passed a hunting exam.
The basic method is to stand somewhere suitable and wait for the animal to walk by. The team leader decides who stands where in the forest. A well placed tower marks the spot you should be in, gives you a slightly better view of your area and in the event of less than perfect weather a roof to keep the rain off can be a desirable.
As I've already indicated the naming of this deer can lead to problems. In Europe it is known as elk, and in North America as moose. Its Latin name is Alces alces. Confusingly there is another completely different species of deer in North America known as elk. Wikipedia has a good explanation of how this etymological confusion arose if you are interested.

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